edit: dammit. I'm going to do it. I'm upgrading this to four stars. That's like winning a Gold Medal at the Los Angeles Olympics.

If you're Russian!

I should probably mention that I have not seen 'Flushed Away'. so this is in no way a comparison to that movie.

It's a coming-of-age, finding-your-own-path type story. All that usual junk. Rémy rises above this though - not because he's a rat, but because he's a great character. Admittedly a few of the other characters are wishy-washy, but Rémy shines, as does his human pal, and that does the trick.

Rather than cringing from rubbery CGI characters, this time I found myself admiring, even straight out liking them (the rats, anyway). This is no small step for me.

And the choice of my absolute favourite actor, Peter O'Toole, as the food critic Anton Ego, nailed this for me.

Although it maybe makes 4 stars less convincingly than 'Bambi' or 'Secret of NIMH', and notwithstanding my long-running burn-out with 3D, there is no gainsaying the quality of this movie.

I think Pixar started out with two incredible films (the 'Toy Story(s)), then went into a period of just 'very good', which lasted from 'Bugs Life' until 'Finding Nemo'. The last two of their movies have really impressed me, though, and I think this is their best movie since 'Toy Story 2'

BTW, did anyone else notice that in the closing credits, a logo comes up which reads, '100 per cent animation - no motion capture'?

If there were a rating for 'perfect', above '4 stars', this might not make it, but - oh hell, look, this is a terrific movie. It battered down my sensibilities and my dislike of CGI. Like most great rock singles, it could be better, but it rocks.